


A Second Chance to Get it Right

by machtaholic (cinderella81)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Matchmaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:29:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderella81/pseuds/machtaholic
Summary: Jace spends two days in an alternate dimension and it turns his world upside down.  Can his friends help him get what he's only just now realized he wants?[Spoiler alert: Yes, yes they can.]





	A Second Chance to Get it Right

The first thing Jace was aware of when he finally drug himself from unconsciousness was how much he hurt; the last thing he remembered was a pretty brutal battle with a couple of upper level demons. It looked like everything had been going his way - he and Alec and Izzy were making short work of the demons - but then everything went black.

When Jace finally managed to open his eyes, he found everything to be too bright and too fuzzy. He somehow managed to lift his arms and rub at his eyes a bit, and when he opened them again it was less bright, but still too fuzzy.

Jace gave a low groan and fumbled around for his stele.

“Jace, Jace baby, hold up, your glasses are still in the bag from the hospital.”

Baby? Hospital?? Wait, Jace knew that voice. He sat up and tried to open his eyes again, searching for the source of the voice.

“Simon?” Jace practically croaked, groaning again and flopping back down on the bed with a loud thump.

“Doctor said you’re on bed rest for today at least.” 

A dark blur appeared in front of Jace and he squinted as if that would make the figure come into focus. He jumped a bit when he felt hands pushing glasses onto his face and blinked as everything came into focus. He focused his gaze and found Simon Lewis staring down at him with a very concerned look on his face. Simon Lewis, but not the Simon Lewis that Jace knew. This Simon looked different.

“What? Do I got something on my face?”

Jace gave his head a minute shake, wincing a bit at the pain as he continued to stare at Simon and mentally inventory the changes. This Simon was a bit bulkier and had some colored streaks in his hair, the glasses were still gone, and Jace could see piercings in each ear and a couple of tattoos peeking out from underneath the shirt Simon wore. 

“No,” Jace said softly.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Simon asked.

Jace was pretty sure ‘battling a demon’ was not the answer this Simon was looking for. Instead, Jace just settled for a little shrug and looking confused - pretty easy considering his situation.

“That bad, huh? Well the doctor said you’d have some retrograde amnesia,” Simon said. “So, short story is you got into an accident on your motorcycle - thank goodness you were wearing your helmet or things would have been way worse. You’re pretty banged up and on some pain meds that I have been made designated keeper of. If you feel up to it later you can try to get out of bed, but you’re not going back to school or practice for at least a week and I have free days today and tomorrow so I can play nursemaid, and I already called the school -”

“Rambling,” Jace mumbled, sighing and closing his eyes. Some things were still the same.

“Right,” Simon said. “Sorry. So, are you hungry? I can whip up some eggs and toast if you feel like eating.”

Jace took inventory of his body and, past the pain, there was definitely hunger.

“Could eat,” Jace admitted.

“Okay,” Simon said. “You just stay there and I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

The feel of warm lips pressed against his almost made Jace jump - he opened his eyes and stared at Simon’s retreating back, utterly confused. Clearly Jace had somehow been transported to another dimension where’d replaced the other Jace - the other Jace who was in a relationship with Simon. He looked around and took stock of his situation - the apartment looked like the one Simon and Jordan had shared, except now it was apparently shared by him and Simon.

Jace glanced down and blinked as he realized he had no runes. He had plenty of tattoos snaking up both arms, partially hidden under bandages, but no runes. It was strange.

Jace was suddenly aware of hair brushing his shoulders and glanced over, shocked when he saw blonde hair over his shoulders and part way down his chest. He reached up, gave it an experimental tug and blinked. 

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Jace said softly.

“I come with food.” Simon came back into the bedroom with a breakfast tray. “Eggs and toast, and maybe a few strawberries.”

Jace hummed as he watched Simon set the tray over his lap, frowning when he felt his glasses slip down his nose. That was going to get irritating fast.

“Smells good,” Jace said.

“Well, can’t go too wrong with eggs and toast,” Simon replied. “And after you’ve eaten you can have a pain pill - can’t take these suckers on an empty stomach.”

Jace remained silent as he put the eggs on the toast and made himself a sandwich, eating it slowly.

“Your grandmother called, by the way,” Simon said. “I still swear she hates me, even though you say she loves me. Anyway, she said to be more careful in the future and to get better soon.”

Sounded like something Imogen would say, Jace thought to himself as he finished his sandwich and moved on to the strawberries.

“And here is a pain pill,” Simon said.

Jace glanced over as Simon put a small pill on the tray next to the glass of orange juice. He eyed it warily for a few moments before popping it into his mouth and chasing it down with orange juice. 

“Thanks,” Jace said as he put the almost empty juice glass down.

“No prob,” Simon replied. “I expect Iz and Clary to stop by later and check in on you.”

Jace just nodded, still trying to get his bearings. He eventually sighed and leaned back against the pillows.

“Sleepy?” Simon asked.

“Bit, yeah,” Jace said. He wasn’t, but he needed Simon to not be there so he could mentally catalog what had happened and try to figure out how to get home.

“Okay, well I suspect that pain pill’s gonna knock you out, so I’ll leave you be,” Simon said. “But call for me if you need help getting to the bathroom or something.

“I will,” Jace said, blinking as he felt Simon’s lips against his forehead. He felt Simon gently remove his glasses and then tuck the sheets around him.

“I’ll be right out in the living room,” Simon said.

“M’kay,” Jace murmured, humming when he felt a blanket tucked around him. 

* * * 

When Jace woke up again, it was dark outside and a single lamp was on in the corner of the room. He vaguely remembered that he wasn’t in his own dimension as he carefully rolled over and grabbed the glasses off the nightstand, slipping them on and watching as the world snapped into focus.

After sitting up and finding that the world didn’t spin, Jace decided to try to get out of bed. The sooner he knew his surroundings, the sooner he could try to find a way home.

Jace carefully climbed off the bed and stood for a second, waiting to see if he’d fall over or be able to make it to the bathroom. When he didn’t immediately fall over, Jace cautiously ventured towards where he assumed the bathroom was, stepped inside and turned on the light.

Objectively Jace still looked like himself, but not. The glasses were one thing, the other was the blond hair that hung past his shoulders. Under the bandages and the bruising, Jace saw quite a few tattoos … not runes. It was a strange sight to see.

“Feeling better?”

Jace jumped, then grabbed the sink to keep from falling over.

“Woah, woah,” Simon said, hurrying to Jace’s side.

“I’m fine,” Jace said. “You just surprised me.”

“Didn’t mean to,” Simon said. “I just heard you up and about, so I wanted to check.”

“Just trying to gauge things, you know?” Jace said.

“Feel up to moving into the living room? Doctor said you could move around a bit if you felt up to it,” Simon said. “I ordered in some pizza and it was literally delivered right before you woke up.”

“I could eat,” Jace said.

“Good, then let’s go,” Simon said. “Slowly.”

“Not sure I’m in the mood to sprint,” Jace muttered. He couldn’t help but smile when he felt one of Simon’s hands on his back and the other on his elbow, gently helping Jace from the bathroom into the living room.

Jace settled onto the couch and smiled as he watched Simon disappear in the direction of the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a couple of plates, two bottles of water and a couple of pain pills for Jace.

“Two slices of sausage and pepperoni and a bottle of water,” Simon said. “But first, let’s get your hair back so you don’t get pizza in it.”

“Um, sure,” Jace said. He tried to reach up to pull his hair back, but winced; then suddenly Simon was there with a brush and a hair holder.

“Don’t overextend yourself,” Simon said. “I can do it.”

Jace couldn’t help but hum as he felt Simon’s fingers in his hair, followed by the brush. Always a bit of a hedonist, Jace loved when people touched his hair; he let his head drop back a bit as Simon brushed his hair then braided it back in a french braid.

“Um, thanks,” Jace said when he felt the end of the braid against his back.

“No problem.”

Jace couldn’t help but blush when he felt Simon press a quick kiss to his cheek before sitting back down next to Jace with his plate of pizza. Jace glanced down at his plate and picked the pepperoni and sausage off, nibbling on it slowly.

“You need to eat more than that,” Simon said. “So you can take your pain meds.”

“I’m not in that much pain,” Jace said. “Sore, yes, but not pain.”

“That’s good,” Simon said. “But still, eat more.”

“I will,” Jace said, eating his pizza.

“Wanna put on a movie?” Simon said. “Action movie or rom com?”

“Action movie,” Jace said. “Definitely action movie.”

“Done,” Simon said.

Jace finished his pizza, set his plate on the coffee table, then settled as comfortably as he could on the couch while Simon got the movie going. When Simon joined him back on the couch, he settled closer to Jace, his arm around Jace’s shoulders.

Jace didn’t really pay attention to the movie, instead he just let himself relax. His eyes drifted closed and before he knew it he was asleep.

When he woke up again, Jace found himself laying down on the couch, his head in Simon’s lap. He hummed as he felt Simon gently rubbing his arm.

“You okay?” Simon asked.

“Mmmhmm,” Jace hummed. “Sleepy.”

“Clearly,” Simon said, chuckling. “Come on, you should get to bed.”

“Mmmhmm,” Jace hummed again, not moving from his spot. A few minutes later he groaned when he felt Simon give him a gentle shove. He sat up and gave a hesitant stretch, smiling when he found the majority of his aches and pains gone.

“Bed, come on,” Simon said. “Everyone’s coming over tomorrow, so you need a good night’s sleep.”

“Fine, fine,” Jace said, letting Simon push and nudge him to the bedroom, where he gently flopped down on the bed. He hummed when he felt the bed dop and felt Simon remove his glasses. When Simon laid down next to him and flung an arm across his waist, Jace didn’t even flinch, just snuggled in closer and let himself drift off to sleep.

* * * 

“A piano.”

Jace had woken up the next morning feeling much better, and didn’t even react when he looked down to find Simon wrapped around him. He extricated himself from Simon’s grasp and climbed out of bed, doing his business in the bathroom before heading into the living room.

The piano sat near the window - Jace couldn’t believe he’d missed it the day before when he and Simon had watched the movie.

Jace crossed the room and sat at the piano, running his fingers over the keys with a smile.

“Gonna play something for me?”

Jace glanced over his shoulder to see Simon in the kitchen, and shrugged.

“Just want to make sure I don’t forget,” Jace said, running scales for a couple of minutes, enjoying the feel of the keys under his fingers.

“You’re top of your class at Juilliard, I highly doubt you’d forget,” Simon said, his tone teasing.

Juilliard - a mundane school for the arts. Jace didn’t know how he knew that, but he did.

“Just making sure,” Jace said, closing the lid on the piano and turning to Simon. “Breakfast?”

“More like brunch, it’s almost noon,” Simon said. “We slept way too late.”

“I needed the sleep,” Jace said. “I’m still injured.”

“Mmmhmm,” Simon hummed. “Gonna have to put a big spread together, because everyone is coming over.”

“Want some help?” Jace said.

“You? The man who burns toast?” Simon said. “Maybe I’ll put you to work on cutting duty.”

Jace cracked a small smile. “Put me to work,” he said as he carefully stood and crossed the room to the kitchen, laughing when Simon chucked an apron at him.

“You’ll be on vegetable duty,” Simon said.

“Got it,” Jace said, and went to work cutting vegetables for whatever Simon was putting together.

A little while later Jace was helping Simon put the finishing touches on the spread of food on the kitchen island when there was a knock on the door.

“Jace, go take a seat and I’ll get the door,” Simon said. “You’ve been on your feet too long.”

“You’re such a worrier,” Jace said fondly, but headed to the living room where he sat down on the couch, watching as Simon headed to the door to let everyone in.

Jace braced himself as the door opened - he didn’t know what his friends looked like in this universe, but he knew it would be different. He saw Clary first, sporting a super short pixie cut and a nose ring, followed by Izzy who was sporting an ear length bob and a pair of glasses. Following them was Alec, who looked pretty much the same just without the runes, and then Magnus who looked like a slightly muted version of Magnus from his world.

“And how is the patient?” Izzy asked, coming to sit next to Jace.

“Better,” Jace said. “Much better, actually.”

“Good,” Clary said as she joined Izzy on the couch.

Jace watched the play between Izzy and Clary and realized that the two of them were clearly in a relationship. 

“He’s been the perfect patient,” Simon called from the kitchen. “Now come on everyone, get some food. Except Jace, he’s still recovering so I’ll make his plate.”

Jace couldn’t help but blush as the coos coming from everyone and covered his face with his hands.

It was actually nice, sitting around eating and chatting.

When everyone had finished, Jace got up to start clearing plates away.

“Jace, no,” Simon said.

“I’ve been sitting too long,” Jace said. “My muscles will atrophy.” Without even thinking, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Simon’s cheek before he finished cleaning up and took the plates into the kitchen.

Jace smiled as he listened to everyone chatting as he started rinsing and washing the plates.

“Jace.”

Jace turned at the sound of Magnus’ voice.

“Magnus,” Jace said. “Come to help me out?”

“In a sense,” Magnus said softly. “Shadowhunter.”

Jace froze at that word. “What did you say?” he whispered.

“You look like our Jace, but I can tell you’re not,” Magnus murmured.

“H-how?”

“I gave up my magic when I met Alexander,” Magnus said. “There’s no magic left in this world and I was the one hold out. But after Alexander … he’s my other half and I can’t imagine going on without him.”

Jace smiled. “Yeah, you two are kind of sickening in my world, too,” he said. “But if you gave up your magic, then -”

“I don’t know of a way to get you home, no,” Magnus said. “As I said, I was the last bit of magic in this world. I do, however, hope that those in your world can find a way to bring you home.”

“Thank you,” Jace said. “I’m a bit lost here, and the longer I stay here the more obvious it will become.”

“I’ll help you as I can,” Magnus said.

“Thank you,” Jace said.

“Are you and Simon together in your world?” Magnus asked as he moved to help Jace wash dishes.

Jace shook his head. “No,” he said. “It’s so strange ... “

“In your world, maybe,” Magnus said. “But in this one, no. You two compliment each other.”

“Guys! Leave that stuff for later! We want to watch a movie!” Simon called from the living room. “We need you guys to cast your votes!”

“Coming!” Jace said, giving Magnus a grateful smile before the two of them joined everyone out in the living room.

They ended up watching two movies before everyone else had to go. Jace had crashed out halfway through the second movie and woke up to darkness and some chinese food on the coffee table.

“Eat something,” Simon said softly. “Then we’ll go to bed.”

Jace hummed and sat up, rubbing his eyes under his glasses before taking the plate of food from Simon. He ate quietly, still partly asleep, and allowed himself to lean on Simon just a bit.

“Okay now?” Simon asked a bit later.

Jace hummed and nodded. “Okay,” he mumbled.

“All right, then time for bed,” Simon said.

Jace hummed again and let Simon help him stand and manhandle him into the bedroom. Jace tugged his glasses off, tossed them on the nightstand and fell onto the bed. He shifted onto his side and allowed himself to drift a bit. An indeterminate amount of time later, Jace felt the bed dip and felt Simon snuggle against him.

“Love you, Jace,” Simon whispered.

“Love you, too,” Jace mumbled as he drifted off.

* * * 

“Jace? Jace are you okay?”

Jace groaned, his joints aching as he tried to stretch.

“Stop trying to move.”

Alec’s voice penetrated Jace’s brain and he gave another groan and flopped down on the bed. 

“We found you in an alley and brought you back to the Institute,” Izzy said.

Jace pried his eyes open and squinted as he looked around the room. He was in medical in the Institute, laying on one of the beds. He tried again to shift and groaned.

“Stop trying to move,” Alec said again. “When we found you, you’d apparently been in that alley for days - no food, no water, you hadn’t moved.”

Jace gave another low groan.

“So you’re here in medical until they release you,” Izzy said. “We were all worried about you.”

“Who … who found me?” Jace asked, licking his lips. They were split and chapped, a clear sign that what Alec told him was true.

“Simon,” Izzy said. “Simon found you. Apparently he never stopped looking for you.”

“Oh,” Jace murmured.

“Where were you? When we found you, you were comatose,” Alec said.

“I’m not … I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Jace whispered hoarsely.

“When you’re ready,” Izzy said, “we’re here to listen.”

Jace nodded. “I promise I’ll explain,” he said. “Just not right now.”

“Clary and Simon are actually waiting to see you,” Izzy said. 

Jace sighed and nodded. “Just, explain to them that I’m tired and they can only visit for a few minutes,” he said softly, smiling when Izzy and Alec each pat him on the hand before going to get Clary and Simon.

“We were so worried!” Clary said as she rushed in, Simon close behind her.

“Seriously, super worried,” Simon said as he stood on one side of Jace’s bed.

“Thank you,” Jace said softly. “For still looking for me.”

“Of course,” Simon said. “I’m glad I found you.”

“Me too,” Jace replied.

“Me too,” Clary said. “It was really quiet without you here, Jace.”

Jace turned and gave Clary a kind smile. “I’m glad to be back,” he murmured.

“Guys, Jace really needs to rest,” Izzy said. “Medical is going to keep him here for a few more days, so you guys are welcome to come back tomorrow.”

“We’ll be back,” Clary said.

“Yeah, we’ll be back,” Simon said, patting Jace on the arm.

Jace glanced over to Simon and gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he said.

“Out guys, out,” Izzy said, shooing Clary and Simon from the room. When they were gone, Izzy turned and gave Jace a smile. “Alec and I are going to leave too, because you really do need to sleep. The healing rune only does so much.”

Jace closed his eyes and nodded. Soon enough he heard Izzy and Alec leave and then Jace was alone.

Trying to wrap his brain around what had just happened and how he’d returned back to his world.

* * * 

Jace was finally released from the medical wing a few days later, but was on restriction and wasn’t allowed on missions. He could do light training and help with research but had to go back to medical every couple of days for a check up until they fully cleared him.

That was okay with Jace as he was still trying to piece things together.

A few days after his release from medical, Jace found himself in the atrium of the Institute, sitting on a bench wrapped in a sweater, when suddenly Magnus was sitting next to him.

“Shit,” Jace said, jumping when he realized Magnus was there.

“My apologies,” Magnus said. “Alexander got stuck in a meeting that looks like it will last for a while, so I thought I would check in on you.”

“Oh, thanks,” Jace said. “But I’m fine.”

“You looked lost in thought,” Magnus said. “Thinking perhaps about the world you visited?”

“How did you -”

“I recognized the signs,” Magnus said. “I was there when Simon rushed you in, and I immediately knew what had happened. It was a complicated spell that sent you there, but such an easy one to bring you back. You were in a world you didn’t belong and wanted to get back, so it was easy to just return you here.”

“Does anyone else know?” Jace asked.

“They know the basics,” Magnus said. “That you’d been sent to an alternate universe. They’re all trying so hard to be patient while you recover so they can begin pestering you with questions.”

That wasn’t something Jace was looking forward to at all.

“It was completely mundane,” Jace murmured. “Even me, or rather other me.”

“Interesting,” Magnus said. “And were you alone there?”

Jace hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “No, I wasn’t alone,” he said. “There was Clary, Izzy, Alec, even you were there. So was Simon.”

“How long were you there?” Magnus asked.

“Two days,” Jace said. “Why?”

“Seems to have left an impression,” Magnus commented. 

“Ever experience something that just turns your world upside down and makes you rethink everything?” Jace asked.

“Yes, when I met Alexander,” Magnus said. “May I ask what you experienced?”

Jace looked down at his hands and then up at Magnus. “Love,” he said. “Real love, not infatuation or lust or a one night stand. But love.”

“I see,” Magnus said.

“Why are you being so nice?” Jace asked with a frown.

“First because Alexander was worried and I told him I’d talk to you,” Magnus said. “Don’t worry, I won’t go into detail, I’ll just tell him you’re fine and that you’re just processing what happened. And second, because you seemed like you needed to talk to someone and I figured why not me? I won’t spill your secrets and I won’t pry - too much.”

“Thanks,” Jace said. “That love I talked about? Came from an unexpected source.”

“It always does,” Magnus said, patting Jace on the hand. “And now I suspect Alexander’s meeting is done and he’ll come looking for me soon.”

Jace watched as Magnus stood and gave Jace a little bow.

“Thanks again,” Jace said. “It helped. To talk about it.”

“Try not to keep it all inside,” Magnus said.

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Jace replied.

* * * 

Another few days passed. Jace got stronger and was allowed to up his training and go out on short reconnaissance missions. Being back in the field helped keep Jace’s mind off things.

Until he came face to face with Simon in the library.

Jace had been commissioned to help research a new demon threat and, given he still wasn’t completely released by medical, he couldn’t really say no.

So he sat holed up in the library, books opened and strewn around the table while he jotted notes, when suddenly Simon was right next to him.

“Hey,” Simon said.

Jace just barely managed not to jump and turned and gave Simon a look.

“Hey,” Jace said.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Jace replied. “What are you doing here?”

“Clary and Izzy went out on a mission and Alec and Magnus left on a date, so I thought you might want some company,” Simon said. “Plus Alec mentioned you might have forgotten to eat so he made me bring you this.” 

Jace watched as Simon set a plate of food near his books. His stomach made a loud growl and he looked down in surprise.

“Alec was right,” Simon said, laughing. “Eat up.”

Jace gave Simon a small scowl, but pulled the plate over and started to dig in.

“So,” Simon said as he sat down next to Jace, “wanna talk about it?”

“About what?” Jace said between bites.

“Where you were,” Simon said. “I mean, we heard the basics from Magnus, that you’d been sent to another dimension, but …”

Jace shrugged - he certainly didn’t want to talk about it with Simon.

“It was totally mundane,” Jace said after a few minutes.

“Like, totally?” Simon asked. “Woah.”

“Yeah, it was strange,” Jace said as he kept eating, suddenly very aware of Simon next to him.

“Sounds like,” Simon said. “I mean, now that I know about all this stuff, it would be weird to suddenly be in a place where it’s … not.”

Jace finished eating and pushed the plate aside, giving Simon a small smile.

“Strange,” Jace said. “It was strange. I don’t, um, I’m still kind of processing it all, even though it was only a couple days, but it was really different. I still don’t quite feel up to talking about it.”

“That’s cool,” Simons aid. “But if you ever need an ear, I’ve got two.”

Jace chuckled and nodded. “Thanks,” he said.

“Guess I’ll get going,” Simon said.

Jace watched Simon stand and tilted his face up, half expecting to get a quick kiss on the forehead or cheek before he realized what he’d been doing.

“It was, um, nice to see you,” Jace said, turning his attention back to his books. “Thanks for bringing me food.”

“You’re welcome,” Simon said. “Anytime.”

Jace felt Simon’s hand on his shoulder and stilled, then glanced up and gave Simon a smile. 

“See you later,” Jace murmured.

He wouldn’t admit out loud that he actually missed the feel of Simon’s hand on his shoulder.

* * * 

“Okay, spill.”

Jace glanced up and saw Izzy standing next to his bed.

“What?” Jace sat up a bit and stared up at Izzy, biting back a smile as she flopped onto the bed next to him.

“You have been practically mute for weeks since Magnus brought you back,” Izzy said. “Like, trying to figure out a puzzle.”

Jace sighed and ran a hand over his face. “The whole place was mundane,” he said softly. “No magic at all.”

“At all?” Izzy said.

Jace nodded. “And you and Clary were a couple,” he said. “And Alec was there with Magnus, who’d given up his magic to be with Alec -”

“How romantic!” Izzy said. “So what has you so confused?”

“I was living with someone,” Jace said.

“Like a roommate?” Izzy asked.

“No,” Jace said. “Not like a roommate. Like sharing a bed, sharing kisses kind of living with someone.”

“Don’t tell me it was Aldertree,” Izzy said. “Or Lydia? Aline?”

Jace shook his head. “Simon,” he whispered. “I lived with Simon.”

“Oh,” Izzy said slowly. “That makes so much sense.”

“It does?” Jace asked.

“Totally,” Izzy said. “Did you like it?”

“It was only two days,” Jace said.

“Well those two days seemed to have stuck with you,” Izzy said. “So I ask again, did you like it?”

Jace thought back to the time spent in the alternate world, to the playful banter, the way Simon took care of him, the soft gentle touches, the sweet kisses …

“I know that smile,” Izzy said. “You totally liked it.”

Jace groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Okay, I liked it,” he said. “But it’s awkward now.”

“Because you know how awesome the two of you can be together and he still sees you as a broody asshole,” Izzy said.

“Who’s a broody asshole?”

Jace glanced over and saw Clary in his doorway.

“Jace is,” Izzy said. “Sometimes.”

“Iz!” Jace said.

“I said sometimes,” Izzy said. “You just need him to see you in a different light.”

“Are we matchmaking?” Clary asked. “I’m all for matchmaking.”

“No,” Jace said at the same time that Izzy said “Yes”.

“With who?” Clary asked.

“Simon,” Izzy said before Jace could stop her.

“Simon?” Clary said.

“In the alternate dimension,” Jace said. “Simon and I were a couple.”

“Oh,” Clary said slowly. “I can totally see it. The UST between you two is so thick sometimes I swear you’re just going to throw Simon against a wall and mack on him.”

“Wait, what? None of that sentence made sense,” Jace said.

“There is totally unresolved sexual tension between the two of you,” Clary said. “And Simon can’t stop looking at you, especially since you came back.”

“Yeah?” Jace said, then covered his face when Izzy and Clary both cooed softly. “I hate you both.”

“No you don’t,” Izzy said. “Now, our mission is going to be to get Simon to see you in a different light. First thing is your hair.”

“I’m not cutting my hair,” Jace said, a bit defensively.

“Relax, I wasn’t going to say for you to cut it,” Izzy said. “Just, don’t use so much product.”

“Let it get a bit messy,” Clary agreed. “Let it fall in your face a bit.”

“Any other suggestions?” Jace meant for his tone to be sarcastic, but Clary and Izzy certainly didn’t take it that way.

“Actually,” Izzy said slowly.

Thirty minutes later, Jace’s entire wardrobe was strewn all over his bed and Jace was sprawled on a chair in the corner, hand over his face as Izzy and Clary critiqued every piece of clothing he owned.

“Don’t you own anything that isn’t white or black?” Clary asked.

“That isn’t workout gear,” Izzy added.

Jace just shrugged. 

“Ugh, you need more color,” Clary said.

“I have always said that Jace needs more color in his wardrobe.”

Jace removed his hand from his face, leaned forward a bit and groaned when he saw Magnus and Alec stepping into his room.

“Then you can help us out,” Izzy said.

“I would love to,” Magnus said. “What are we looking for exactly?”

“Something to make Jace seem … soft, vulnerable,” Izzy said.

“Oooh, like soft sweaters!” Clary said.

“Kill me,” Jace said to Alec, grateful when Alec crossed the room and sat down on the arm of Jace’s chair.

“What happened?” Alec asked.

“I opened my mouth,” Jace muttered. “In the other dimension, I was with someone, or rather the other me was with someone. And it was nice. Really nice.”

“Who was it?” Alec asked.

“Simon!” Izzy called. “Jace and Simon were an item!”

“A little louder, I don’t think the London Institute heard you,” Jace grumbled.

“I mean, he’s not bad,” Alec said. “He’s proven himself to be a pretty stand up guy.”

“You don’t mind?” Jace asked.

“All I want is for my brother to be happy,” Alec said. “So if Simon makes you happy, then I say go for it.”

“Jace, how do you feel about purple?” Magnus called from the other side of the bed.

Jace glanced over at his bed and blinked. Every single item on the bed had been transfigured from the black utilitarian clothes he’d had to … something else entirely. Henleys, soft sweaters, button ups, v-neck t-shirts, all in varying shades of grey, purple, blue and green. Thankfully it appeared they left his pants alone, leaving him with his blue and black jeans.

“Um, I like purple?” Jace said, standing and walking over to the bed. “You sure about this?”

“Absolutely,” Izzy said.

“Since you guys hauled all that out, are you going to help me put it away?” Jace asked.

“Oh, I can take care of that,” Magnus said and, with a wave of his hands, sent all of Jace’s clothes back to the closet.

“Oh! Simon should catch you playing piano!” Clary said. “He’s a sucker for fellow musicians.”

“I hate my life choices,” Jace groaned.

“You don’t have to listen to them,” Alec said.

“True,” Jace said. “But I don’t think my normal way of getting dates is going to work on Simon.”

“No, probably not,” Alec agreed. “He has a specific perception of you though, and if you really want to try it, then you do need to try to change that perception. Seeing you as a bit vulnerable would go a long way.”

“Pretty sure he already knows I’m vulnerable,” Jace muttered. “He found me in the alley unconscious. That’s pretty vulnerable.”

“There are different kinds of vulnerable,” Magnus said as he joined Alec and Jace. “I believe what everyone here is getting at is that Simon needs to see you emotionally vulnerable. Lowering your defenses a bit. Also, letting him see those bits of you that only those closest to you see. Like …” Magnus waved his hand and a stack of history books and comics suddenly dropped onto Jace’s bed.

“Wait,” Clary said as she sorted through the books on Jace’s bed. “It has to be realistic.”

“It is,” Jace said. “Those are all from my bookshelf, Clary. Or from a box in my closet.”

“Oh,” Clary said, looking a bit embarrassed. “Didn’t know you were a history geek and a comic nerd.”

“Oh, his collections are epic,” Alec said with a grin. “Facets of himself that only certain people get to see.”

Jace gave Clary a sheepish grin and a shrug - they’d never really gotten close enough for her to learn those facets himself.

“Well, then you’re even more Simon’s type than I thought,” Clary said with a smile.

“But it can’t just happen suddenly,” Izzy said. “Simon would be suspicious.”

“Okay, start with the hair first,” Clary said. “I’ll figure out a way to get Simon here more often.”

“He’s here all the time as it is,” Alec muttered. “Has been ever since he brought Jace in.”

“It’s cute,” Izzy said.

“It’s romantic,” Magnus said.

Jace sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “This all seems silly,” he said. “I don’t even know if I like him.”

“Oh you totally do,” Izzy said. “You wouldn’t be so confused if you didn’t. Just listen to us and it’ll be fine.”

“Famous last words,” Jace muttered.

* * *

Jace groaned and rolled his shoulder as he and Alec stepped into the Institute. Jace had finally been cleared to do actual missions and to go back to full training, and the second he’d gotten clearance he’d dragged Alec out for a patrol, which ended in a fight with a lower level demon. The demon had been dispatched with only minor injuries to Jace and Alec.

“First time out and already getting hurt?”

Jace ran a hand through his hair as he turned to face Clary, pausing for the barest of moments when he caught sight of Simon at Clary’s side.

“It’s all part of the job,” Jace said with a one shouldered shrug. “I’m fine, promise.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Simon said. 

“Thanks,” Jace said, running his hand through his hair again - using less product had his hair falling in his face all the time but he had to admit it looked pretty good. “Took a little longer than I’d have liked.”

“Well I’m sure they just wanted to make sure you didn’t relapse,” Simon said. 

“Exactly what I told him,” Alec said. “But I’m glad he’s back.”

“You guys hungry?” Clary asked. “They’re still serving dinner.”

“I definitely worked up an appetite,” Jace said.

“Me too,” Alec said.

“Well, clean up and you can meet me and Simon for dinner,” Clary said.

“Clean up?” Jace said.

“You kinda smell,” Simon said.

“Simon speaks the truth,” Clary said. “Seriously, go wash - the food’s not going anywhere.”

“Fine, fine, since apparently the smell of demon blood is not appealing,” Jace said, sticking his tongue out at Simon and Clary before heading to his room, hearing Alec head off in the direction of his own room.

One quick shower later had Jace contemplating his closet for what to wear. Before he’d never have spent so much time pondering his closet but now … he ran a hand through his still wet hair and reached for a pair of jeans and a dark grey henley. Pulling on socks and a pair of boots, he took a quick moment to run a comb through his hair before heading to get some food.

He found Clary and Simon sitting towards the back of the room, Clary with a plate of food and Simon with a cup of blood. He knew the moment they spotted him because Simon did a very obvious double take and Jace bit back a smile as he headed to get himself some food before joining Clary and Simon at the table.

“No Alec?” Jace asked.

“Magnus probably came and swept him off somewhere,” Clary said. “Or Clave business. Don’t know.”

Jace shrugged and dropped the napkin on his lap, running a hand through his hair before digging into his food. In his peripheral vision, he caught Simon giving him a few looks.

“So what have you guys been up to?” Jace asked between bites.

“You know, training and stuff,” Clary said.

“You training, Simon?” Jace asked.

“Clary’s trying to help me,” Simon said.

“But I’m not as well versed at how vampires move,” Clary said.

“Well you need to train without using your speed first, get a feel for relying on yourself before bringing strength and speed into the mix,” Jace said.

“I didn’t think about that,” Clary admitted. “Hey, would you help train Simon?”

Jace looked up, tossing his hair out of his face as he gave Simon a speculative look. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll help.”

“Perfect,” Clary said, giving Jace a knowing look.

“Cool, um, thanks,” Simon said, nearly knocking over his glass of blood.

Jace reached over and steadied it, his fingers brushing Simon’s every so slightly.

“Careful,” Jace said.

“Th-thanks,” Simon said.

“No problem,” Jace said as he turned his attention back to his food. “Just let me know when you’re free to train and we’ll work out a schedule.”

“Well seeing as I don’t work and can go out in the daytime, I’m pretty much free all the time,” Simon said.

Jace chuckled softly. “Okay, let me look at my schedule and I’ll get back to you,” he said.

“Sounds good,” Simon said. “I, um, I’m going to get going.”

“You sure?” Clary asked.

“Yeah,” Simon said.

“I’ll get back to you about a training schedule,” Jace said.

“Um, yeah, sounds good,” Simon said as he stood, taking a moment to drain his cup before heading for the door.

“Well that went well,” Clary commented after Simon was gone. “Simon couldn’t keep his eyes off you. And training him? Brilliant idea.”

“It wasn’t just a way to get close to him,” Jace said. “He really does need to know how to fight.”

“Kill two birds with one stone,” Clary said. “Train him and get close to him.”

Jace groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “This is going to end horribly,” he said.

“No, it’s going to end with the two of you together,” Clary said. “I have a few suggestions for what to wear when you train him.”

Jace groaned and thumped his forehead on the table.

* * * 

Even Magnus’d had an idea for what Jace should wear when training with Simon. Between him, Izzy and Clary, Jace had gotten enough fashion advice to last him for months. Magnus’ advice had been to wear as little as possible, which would have led to a lot of laughter and not much training. Clary and Izzy’d had slightly different advice - tight yoga pants with a tight tank top in a bright color.

“Just wear something comfortable,” Alec had said. “If you’re comfortable, Simon will be comfortable.”

“But pull your hair back,” Izzy said. “Like in a little ponytail to keep it out of your face.”

Jace just rolled his eyes and nodded, then went into the bathroom to change; he’d decided on black sweats and a dark blue tank top.

“Pretty sure I can train him on my own,” Jace called from the bathroom. “I appreciate the assistance, but I think I’ve got it.”

“Just be yourself,” Izzy said.

“But sexier,” Clary said.

“Guys, I got it,” Jace said as he exited the bathroom, took a hairholder from Izzy and pulled his hair back, ignoring Clary’s wolf whistle.

“Go get him!” Izzy said.

“Seriously, just be you,” Alec said as he walked Jace to the training room. “Pretty sure Simon really does like you. He just needs to know you like him too.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Jace said.

“You’ll figure it out,” Alec said as they reached the training room.

“Hopefully,” Jace muttered. He noticed Simon was already there waiting for him and smiled as he watched Simon bounce a bit on the balls of his feet - even as a vampire he hadn’t lost the urge to fidget.

“Go have fun,” Alec said, giving Jace a shove. “And see you later.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jace said. “See you later.” He crossed the room, ignoring the looks he got from some of the others on the mats and gave Simon a playful shove.

“Woah,” Simon said, nearly falling over.

Jace caught him and helped him upright. “Careful,” he said, resisting the urge to duck his head when Simon turned around and saw him. The look Simon gave him had the briefest flash of unadulterated lust before it quickly transitioned to surprise.

“Thanks,” Simon said. 

“Ready to get going?” Jace said.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Simon said. “So, we going to get right down to the training?”

“No, first we stretch, then we fight,” Jace said, sitting down on the floor and patting the spot next to him.

“Stretch?” Simon said.

“Well, you don’t want to pull a muscle,” Jace said as he started to stretch, motioning for Simon to join him.

“Don’t know if I can anymore,” Simon said. “And I wouldn’t be able to stretch before getting into a fight.”

“Fighting and training are different,” Jace said. “You always stretch before you train. Regular training sessions means you’ll always be ready to fight.”

“Got it,” Simon said as he dropped to the floor and began to follow Jace in his stretches.

Jace immediately went into teacher mode, putting his focus on teaching Simon how to fight, instead of focusing on whatever feelings he was developing for Simon. It was actually kind of fun, teaching Simon the basics of fighting. He kept working for two hours training Simon before calling it a day.

“I think if I wasn’t a vampire I’d be exhausted,” Simon said, flopping down on the mat.

“Nope, no laying still, cool down stretches,” Jace said, tugging Simon into a sitting position.

“Cool down stretches?” Simon whined.

“Stop being a baby,” Jace said. “Better than getting a charley horse because you didn’t cool down properly.”

“Fine, fine,” Simon said.

“You’ll feel better when you’re done, too,” Jace said, leading Simon through the cool down stretches. When they were done, Jace stood and gave a slow stretch before reaching for a bottle of water. When he glanced over at Simon, he found Simon staring up at him from his spot on the floor.

“Um, better, yeah,” Simon said as he stood and gave a stretch. “I feel better.”

“Good,” Jace said with a smile. “Gonna come back tomorrow?”

“Yep, I’ll be here,” Simon said.

“I gotta clean up before I go on patrol,” Jace said. “See you tomorrow.” He took a moment to undo his ponytail and shake his hair free, spared a moment to glance over at Simon and bit back a grin when he found Simon standing there still staring.

Maybe his friends knew what they were talking about.

* * * 

“How does the heater break in the middle of winter?” Jace grumbled, wrapping the sweater tighter around his midsection as he made his way from the kitchens to his room carrying a mug of hot tea. Once in his room he sat on the floor against his bed in front of his fireplace, sweater wrapped tight around him and settled in with his latest book - a history of the Peloponnesian War.

“Hey, Clary sent me here with some more firewood.”

Jace glanced around his bed to see Simon in his doorway with an armload of firewood.

“Come on in,” Jace said.

“How does the heater break in the middle of winter?” Simon asked.

“I just asked myself the same thing,” Jace said as motioned for Simon to join him. “Thanks for the firewood.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen your room before,” Simon said as he sat down next to Jace, leaning forward to toss a few logs onto the fire.

“Thanks,” Jace said. “You haven’t seen my room before?”

“Don’t think so,” Simon said. “It’s pretty big. So, what are you reading?”

Jace smiled and showed Simon the cover of his book. “I like reading about mundane history as well as Shadowhunter history,” he said. “It was either this or break out my Captain America comics.”

“History and comics,” Simon said.

“I am a man of many facets,” Jace said, giving Simon another smile. 

“Is the broken heater why we’re not training?” Simon asked.

“Probably not a good idea for me to work up a sweat when it’s freezing in the building,” Jace said with a nod.

“True,” Simon said. “Hey, you’ve got a piano?”

“I do,” Jace said.

“Who taught you to play?” Simon asked.

Jace paused. “Valentine,” he replied softly. “When I messed up he would, um, break the offending digit. Then he’d Iratze it and make me start over.”

“And you still play?” Simon asked.

“When the mood strikes,” Jace replied.

“Well, if the mood ever strikes and I’m around, let me know,” Simon said. “I’d like to hear you play.”

“Maybe I will,” Jace said, tucking his sweater tighter around him. “Thanks again for the firewood - it was getting damn cold in here.”

Simon gave Jace a shrug. “Can’t feel cold anymore,” he said. “So I’ll take your word for it. Must be really cold if you put a sweater on.”

“It is,” Jace said. “And Magnus just gave me this really thick sweater.”

“The purple looks good on you,” Simon said.

“Thanks,” Jace said softly. “Keeps me warm.”

“Which is definitely needed right now,” Simon said. “I should, um, let you get back to your book.”

“You can, um, stay if you want,” Jace said. “Grab a book and sit and read with me. If you want, I mean.”

“Um, sure,” Simon said.

Jace watched as Simon wandered over to his bookshelf and perused Jace’s books, coming back a few minutes later with a large tome. Simon plopped down next to Jace on the floor and settled the book on his lap.

“Interesting choice,” Jace said, noting that Simon had chosen a book of Shadowhunter history.

“You’re learning about my history, I’ll learn about yours,” Simon replied.

Jace gave Simon a smile, then settled in to read his own book. The warmth of the fire, the hot tea, the solid presence of Simon at his side had Jace so relaxed that before he knew it he’d drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up, Jace found himself on his bed with a blanket tucked around him, the heater running at full blast and Simon nowhere to be found. Jace levered up on his elbow and looked around, then smiled when he saw the scrap of paper on the bed.

‘Hope you don’t mind. I’ll be back tomorrow to train. -S’

No, Jace didn’t mind at all.

* * * 

“Jace, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Jace hesitated in Magnus’ doorway, hands shoved in his pockets.

“I was wondering if you could help me with something,” Jace said.

“I can certainly try,” Magnus said, motioning for Jace to come inside.

“Is there a way I can see the other me?” Jace asked.

“You want to go back -”

“No,” Jace said. “I don’t want to go back, but I just wanted to … check in?”

“I think I can do that,” Magnus said. “You already have a connection to it, so I can use you to find the alternate dimension. Come sit while I work.”

Jace headed into the living room and sat down, watching as Magnus worked.

“You don’t think this is weird?” Jace asked after a few minutes.

“That dimension made an impression, left its mark on you,” Magnus said. “I understand. So, how are things between you and Simon here in this dimension?”

“Good, I think,” Jace said.

“Good,” Magnus said. “Any confessions of undying love?”

Jace rolled his eyes. “No,” he said. “Just training. Some banter. Book talk. Comic talk.”

“Sounds like progress to me,” Magnus said as he finished what he was doing and moved to sit next to Jace and passed him a cup. “Now, this smells horrible, but it will give you a brief glimpse into the other dimension.”

Jace took the cup and stared down at the contents, wrinkling his nose - it really did smell foul.

“Bottoms up,” Magnus said.

Jace made another face but downed the contents of the cup, then jumped when he felt Magnus grab his hand.

“Sorry, needs a bit of power to get it going,” Magnus said.

Jace felt his hand warming, then his arm … the heat moved throughout his body, then everything tingled and suddenly it was like Jace was there, watching everything like some kind of ghostly figure.

He watched the other Simon move around the apartment and then felt his mouth drop open when he saw the other him - he’d cut his hair in a style so similar to Jace’s own it was eerie.

_ “I still don’t know why you cut it,” Simon said._

_“I told you, I felt like a change,” Jace replied as he stepped into the living room, towel wrapped around his waist. “Plus, I don’t know how the long hair would have gone over when I start auditioning.”_

_“Fine,” Simon replied, pouting a bit._

_“Look at that pouty lip,” Jace said, crossing the room and pulling Simon close. “Gonna get it.”_

_Simon laughed and leaned in, kissing Jace sweetly. _

_“Okay, it’s not that bad,” Simon said, reaching up to run a hand through Jace’s hair and giving it an experimental tug._

_Jace groaned and tightened his grip on Simon._

_“I see that still works,” Simon said, tugging Jace’s hair again._

_“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Jace growled._

_“Who said I didn’t want to finish it?” Simon said, tugging Jace’s towel away and giving Jace’s ass a playful smack._

_“Race you to the bedroom.” _

“Well now,” Magnus said. “That was interesting.”

Jace jumped as Magnus released his arm. 

“You saw that?” Jace asked.

“I did,” Magnus said. “But I promise I won’t say a word.”

“Um, thanks,” Jace said. A few moments later he slumped against the couch and covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to do here.”

“Okay, I’m going to give you one more piece of advice and then I’ll make sure all of us keep our noses out of yours and Simon’s business,” Magnus said. “Tell him the truth.”

“What?” Jace removed his hands from his face and looked over at Magnus. “Tell him -”

“The truth,” Magnus repeated. “Tell him about the other dimension. Tell him that you have feelings for him, that there is something between you two that you want to explore further.”

“I don’t think it was just the alternate dimension,” Jace admitted. “I think feelings were there before and I just ignored them. The alternate dimension brought everything into focus.”

“Then tell him that,” Magnus said.

“That’s not how I usually go about things,” Jace said.

“But I suspect Simon is special,” Magnus said.

Jace felt himself blushing and nodded. “Yeah, he is,” he said.

“Then tell him that,” Magnus said. “And everything will work out.”

“Thanks, Magnus,” Jace said.

“Anytime,” Magnus replied. “Also I might suggest wearing something purple. And tight.”

Jace just rolled his eyes.

* * * 

It took Jace a few days to both get up the guts and figure out how to approach telling Simon everything. Magnus had been true to his word and everyone had stopped dropping hints and making suggestions.

There was nothing special about the day itself. Jace woke up, got a work out in and then went back to his room to clean up. Leaving his hair loose, Jace dressed in a pair of jeans, a dark purple v-neck and the purple sweater Simon had admired from before. Knowing Simon would come looking for him when he didn’t find him in the training area, Jace took a seat at the piano and waited.

“Jace? Oh hey,” Simon said as he stepped inside Jace’s room. “I didn’t see you in the training area, so …”

“The mood struck,” Jace said, motioning to the piano.

“Really?” Simon said. “Can I …? Is it okay?”

Jace smiled and motioned from Simon to join him. “Come sit with me,” he said softly.

“You sure? I don’t want to get in your way,” Simon said.

“You won’t,” Jace said. “Come, sit.” He practically held his breath as Simon sat down next to him - close, but not close enough to hinder Jace’s playing. 

Jace rested his fingers on the keys, took a few deep breaths, and started to play. The melody came easy to him, fingers moving effortlessly across the keys, filling the room with sound.

“Clair de Lune,” Simon whispered.

Jace glanced over at Simon and smiled. “It’s one of my favorites,” he admitted as he continued to play.

“Mine, too,” Simon murmured.

Jace continued to play, smiling when he felt Simon leaning in to him. When the melody ended and Jace stopped playing, he looked over at Simon.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Jace said. “I know that I’ve been pretty quiet about what happened to me a few months ago.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Simon said. “You have stuff to work out and that’s fine.”

“No,” Jace said. “See, I worked it out.” He scooted back and turned a bit to face Simon. “The alternate dimension I went to? I was living with someone.”

“Like a roommate?” Simon asked. “It wasn’t Aldertree, was it?”

Jace laughed and shook his head. “No, it wasn’t Aldertree,” he said. “And it wasn’t a roommate. The other me was involved with someone. It was you.”

“Me?” Simon asked.

“Well, alternate dimension you, but yeah,” Jace said. “And, well, it made me come to terms with a few things.”

“Oh?” Simon said softly.

Jace nodded, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. “I know that when we first met I was -”

“An asshole,” Simon said.

Jace chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, an asshole,” he said. “It was an instinct practically beaten into me - Valentine hated the fact that I liked men and women. But after everything with Valentine and what happened here that night between you and me, and me going for treatment at the Silent City I became more comfortable with … myself. I started to realize that maybe, maybe, there was something between us.”

“Jace -”

“Please let me finish, Simon,” Jace said softly. “Going to the alternate dimension, seeing us together like that, it opened my eyes. I don’t know if you feel the same way and if you don’t then it’s okay. But I really hope you do.”

Jace bit his lip and dropped his head, staring down at his hands as he waited for Simon’s reaction.

“Jace,” Simon said softly.

Jace didn’t dare look up, actually terrified of the idea that Simon might not feel the same, might reject him. He jumped when he felt Simon’s finger on his chin, tilting Jace’s face up so he and Simon were eye to eye.

“You’re still kind of an asshole,” Simon whispered. “But there is something there. I feel it.”

Jace held his breath as Simon leaned in and pressed his lips to Jace’s in a chaste kiss. When Simon pulled back a few moments later, Jace ran a finger across his lips with a small smile.

“Too forward?” Simon asked.

“Nope,” Jace replied. “Not too forward.”

“Awesome,” Simon said. “So were the training sessions just a way to get closer?”

“Yes and no,” Jace sad. “You do actually need to train, but it had the side effect of putting you and me in close quarters for a few hours almost every day.”

“That little ponytail and those tank tops,” SImon groaned. “Fucking menace.”

“Blame everyone else,” Jace said.

“Wait, was everyone in on it?” Simon asked. “Clary, Izzy, everyone?”

Jace blushed a bit and nodded. “I knew my normal way of getting dates would not work on you,” he said. 

“That is very true,” SImon said. “It would not have worked at all.”

“So … I needed some help,” Jace said with a little shrug.

“And now?” Simon said.

“I think I’ve got it figured out,” Jace said, leaning forward and claiming Simon’s lips in another kiss.

“So,” Simon said, breaking the kiss. “Are all those training sessions counting as dates?”

“I have no idea,” Jace said. “But I would actually like to take you out sometime.”

“How about now?” Simon said. “I’m here, you’re here … why not go out?”

“For a lunch date?” Jace said, already standing and going to get socks and his boots.

“Why not?”

Jace laughed and slipped socks and his boots on. “Sure, let’s go on a lunch date,” he said. “You’ll have to pick the place, though.” He went back over to piano and held out his hand, smiling when Simon slipped his hand into Jace’s.

“I know just the place,” Simon said.

Jace gave Simon’s hand a squeeze as they left his room and headed down the hall. He saw Izzy first and knew the instant she saw his and Simon’s clasped hands because she clapped happily and took off, probably to find Clary.

“The whole Institute will know about us by dinner,” Jace muttered.

“Do you care?” Simon asked.

“Not really,” Jace said. “Just … gossip.”

“It’ll die down,” Simon said, giving Jace’s hand a squeeze. “They’ll find something else to talk about.”

“I’m sure,” Jace said. “So let’s escape all the whispers and do this date thing.”

Simon just laughed. “Yeah, let’s do this date thing.”

* * * 

//six months later//

“Are you going to stay in there all night?” Jace called from the bed.

“Keep your shorts on!” Simon yelled.

“Too late, they’re already in the hamper!” Jace replied with a laugh. The last six months had been a breath of fresh air and Jace was grateful for every moment he’d had with Simon. The longer they stayed together, the stronger their bond got. People had started to tease them about how sickeningly sweet they’d gotten, but they didn’t care.

“Okay, okay, no laughing,” Simon called. “I trusted Izzy with this and if you hate it -”

“I won’t, now get out here!” Jace yelled.

The bathroom door opened and suddenly Simon was in the doorway. Jace took a moment to admire the way the light behind Simon created almost a halo effect and then he caught sight of Simon’s hair and stared. Clearly Izzy’s doing, Simon’s hair was peppered with blue and green streaks.

“So?” Simon asked hesitantly.

“Come here,” Jace said lowly. “Now.”

“Oh, that’s a good tone,” Simon said, speeding across the room and hopping onto the bed. “I was worried because you were so quiet, I thought you hated it and I didn’t know what -”

Jace rolled his eyes and pulled Simon in for a kiss, giving Simon’s ass a playful slap.

“It’s fucking awesome,” Jace said.

“Yep, figured that out pretty quick,” Simon said.

Jace chuckled softly as he allowed his fingers to dance across Simon’s ass, humming when he felt Simon wiggling on top of him.

“Jace,” Simon said. “You’re teasing.”

“Am I?” Jace said, dragging a finger down Simon’s crack, dipping inside to tease Simon just a bit.

“You are,” Simon said, moving to straddle Jace’s hips. “And if we weren’t already naked I’d withhold stripping just to retaliate.”

“Good thing we’re already naked,” Jace said as he reached for the lube, dripping a bit on his fingers before slowly pushing two inside Simon, grinning when Simon groaned.

“Oh I have other methods of retaliation,” Simon said.

Before Jace could even blink, Simon had a hand entrenched in Jace’s hair, just holding.

“Simon,” Jace whispered.

“If you’re going to tease, then so am I,” Simon replied, giving Jace’s hair a sharp tug.

“Fuck,” Jace gasped, arching off the bed a bit.

“Well, that is the plan,” Simon said, wiggling against Jace’s fingers.

Jace groaned and scissored his fingers inside Simon, his other hand tweaking one of Simon’s nipples, grinning when Simon let out a sharp ‘eep’. That, of course, only made Simon retaliate again and Simon gave Jace’s cock a stroke while simultaneously tugging Jace’s hair.

“Stop that,” Jace said. “Or I’ll come before I can even get inside you.”

“Then get inside me,” Simon growled. “Because I wanna feel you come.”

Jace groaned and reached for the lube, getting himself ready. “Okay,” he said removing his fingers. “Do you want to mo - holy shit!” Jace yelled when he felt Simon basically sit on Jace’s cock without any warning. Jace moved a hand to Simon’s hip, gripping it tight.

“Just like that,” Simon groaned, thrusting a bit on Jace’s cock.

“Warn a guy, huh?” Jace gasped, reaching for Simon’s cock.

“Now, where is the fun in tha-that?” Simon stuttered when Jace gave his cock a few quick strokes.

Between Simon’s thrusts and hair tugging, and Jace’s cock stroking and nipple tweaking, neither one of them lasted long. Jace came first with Simon quickly following. Jace gave a soft grunt when Simon flopped down on top of him.

“We’re going to stick together,” Jace mumbled after a few minutes.

“Ruin the mood,” Simon muttered, swatting Jace on the hip.

“Just being honest,” Jace said. “Last time it was pretty fucking painful to try to separate us.” 

“Fine, fine,” Simon grumbled, wiggling off Jace’s cock, climbing off the bed and padding to the bathroom. A few minutes he returned with two damp washcloths, one of which he tossed right at Jace’s face.

Jace just laughed as he caught the washcloth, cleaned himself up and tossed the washcloth in the direction of his hamper. He watched Simon clean himself off and smiled when Simon joined him back in bed.

“I really do like the streaks,” Jace murmured, reaching up to card a hand through Simon’s hair.

“Izzy will be so pleased,” Simon replied softly. “She told me if you ever wanted to try them yourself, she’d hook you up.”

“Did she, now?” Jace replied, pulling Simon in for a kiss.

“Mmmhmm,” Simon hummed, tugging Jace’s bottom lip with his teeth. “You do look good in purple.”

Jace hummed and rolled onto his side, tucking Simon against him before pulling the blankets up around them so they could cuddle.

“I’ll think about it.”


End file.
